After a full campaign in a Rally1 car last year to gain experience, expectations were naturally higher for 2024. But so far, his best result remains a fifth-place finish at Safari Rally Kenya in March — a position he already managed three times last season.
Last weekend in Sardinia, Munster’s rally went off the rails on the opening day after a mistake on the second stage effectively ended his hopes. The Luxembourg driver did rejoin the action on Saturday, but once again finished outside the points. It marked another scoreless weekend following similar results in Monte Carlo and the Canary Islands. He has only collected a handful of minor points from Sweden and Portugal.
After the tough outing, Munster was quick to praise his team, which worked hard to keep all three of its drivers in the event — with Martins Sesks and Josh McErlean also retiring early on Friday.
“Sure I got some experience grabbed. The boys and girls at the M-Sport did a good job to allow us to be back on the stages Saturday,” Munster said.
“Today it was important to have that mileage before going to Greece. Tried some things out. I don’t know if we found many things, but at least we have some direction.”
Despite team boss Richard Millener urging before the rally that it was time to stop complaining about the car and focus on results, Munster didn’t hold back in his criticism of the Ford Puma Rally1.
“We need to find more grip or more traction, more just more grip laterally and so on. I think all our crews are trying their best, but we are struggling,” he insisted.
“Doesn’t mean we are not going to find a solution. I think we have good ideas how to get there, but it takes a bit of time.”
The World Rally Championship resumes in Greece on the final weekend of June.
